The new 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder is a combination of exotic charm and driven to thrill design. The Eclipse Spyder has a high-tech convertible top and offered at an outstanding value. It is equipped with standard 18-inch alloy wheels, especially designed Mitsubishi muffler, SIRIUS® Satellite Radio with standard Rockford-Fosgate® Premium Audi system that comes with six months complimentary service. All the Mitsubishi Eclipse models for 2008 are equipped with standard Tire pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

The new 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder is offered in two trim levels namely the GS model which is powered by a 162 hp 2.4 liter four cylinder engine that is mated to a five-speed manual transmission or an optional four speed-automatic. The 3.8 liter V6 engine of the Spyder GT revs up 260 hp and 258 lb-ft of peak torque and is teamed with a standard six-speed manual transmission or an optional five-speed automatic.

The Mitsubishi MIVEC or Mitsubishi Innovative Valve Timing Electronic Control system is featured on both the four-cylinder and the V6 engines that optimize engine efficiency and power across a broad engine speed range. The Eclipse automatic transmissions feature Sportronic™ shifters that enable manual gear shift control.

The 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder’s compact platform and specially fitted Mitsubishi mufflers provides the four-wheel independent suspension with a sporty and comfortable handling. The Eclipse’s fabric top folds automatically and disappears under a flush-fitting powered tonneau cover in as little as 19 seconds. The multi-layered construction provides the Eclipse with a full head liner that gives it with a quiet, snug interior feeling likened to that of a coupe when it is raised. The glass rear window of the Eclipse features a defroster that removes ice or frost especially during winter season.

The exotic design theme of the Eclipse continues into its interior. Its wave-form instrument panel houses easy-to-reach controls and features motorcycle-inspired gauges and ice blue LED nighttime illumination. Three interior schemes are offered such as the Hi-Q Sport (medium gray), Avante Garde (terra cotta), and Techno-Sport (dark charcoal).

The Eclipse’s high-back front bucket seats reflect Mitsubishi’s involvement in motorsports. It features integrated, open head restraints that provide the Eclipse with a sporty look and enhanced rear visibility. The steering wheel is made even more special with the addition of audio system remote controls.

Both of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder models are equipped with standard 650 watt Rockford-Fosgate® premium audio system with AM/FM/CD/MP3 playback capability that includes a six-disc, in-dash CD changer with SIRIUS® Satellite Radio. The audio system was specially engineered to provide the Eclipse with a unique automatic sound equalization. There is also an 8-in subwoofer which is integrated into the rear seat to provide deep bass sound and also made as additional design element for the 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.

Details of the 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder:

Key Specifications

Wheelbase: 101.4

Length: 179.7 in.

Height: 54.4 in. (54.7 in., 18-in. wheels)

Width: 72.2 in.

Curb weight: GS, 5-speed manual – 3,472 lbs. / GT, 6-speed manual – 3,682 lbs.

Major Standard Features

* 17-in. alloy wheels (GS)

* 650-watt (max.) Rockford-Fosgate Premium Audio system, including SIRIUS Satellite Radio

* Air conditioning

* Anti-lock brake system (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD)

* Cruise control

* Dual-stage front air bag SRS with front passenger occupant sensors

* Front seat mounted side-impact air bags

* Engine immobilizer anti-theft system

* Fog lamps

* Keyless entry

* Power cloth soft top with powered tonneau cover

* Power windows, locks and mirrors

* Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT adds

* 18-in. alloy wheels and 235/45 R18 tires

* Center display with outside temperature and compass

* Electronic traction control

* Larger ventilated rear disc brakes.

Optional Leather Package (GS only):

* Center display with outside temperature and compass

* Glovebox with damper,

* Heated exterior mirrors

* Heated front seats

* Illuminated ignition key cylinder

* Leather seating surfaces

Optional Premium Sport Package (GT only):

* Aluminum pedals

* Aluminum scuff plates

* Automatic climate control system

* Heated exterior mirrors

* Heated front seats

* Leather seating surfaces

* Six-way power driver’s seat

* Sword Silver lipless 18-in. alloy wheels

* Wind deflector (removable)



By: Jerick Brooks

About the Author:

Jason Moore asked:


Hyundai SA has added a three-door, 1.6-litre hatchback – the Sporty one – to its already established line-up of 2007 Accent models with a long array of features.

According to the South Korean car maker, the Sporty Hatch’s power train, chassis and suspension have been optimized towards “responsive, fuel-efficient performance, well-balanced handling and top-notch ride comfort” while sticking with the company’s three-year or 100 000km warranty and augmenting a two-year or 45 000km service plan.

Stanley Anderson, Hyundai SA’s Marketing Director said that the Accent sedan has been a very successful model because since its launch in July 2006, the car has received enthuse reviews and their sales have reflected that, particularly when it got a nomination as a Guild of Motoring Journalists’ car of the year finalist in 2006.

The director also said that the hatch is an excellent addition to the Accent family. It appeals quite a different type of buyer in the Accent segment, according to him, because it is all about an individual lifestyle and owning a vehicle that compliments that lifestyle.

The car maker perceives the hatch’s styling as similar to that of the sedan. The difference is that it has a nose that emphasizes a potential for fast-paced efficiency and its defined haunches are adding to its athletic aura.

Low in the front bumper, the twin recessed fog lights have been fitted. Other than that, the car comes with larger than usual 16″ alloy rims shod with 205/45 low-profile tires.

An MP3-compatible audio system and air-conditioning, rear seats that be folded in a 60:40 split and the driver’s seat that can be adjusted for height, reach and rake are located in the fascia’s centre stack. Standard features include power-assisted and speed-sensitive steering, height-adjustable head restraints and seat belts, front and rear cup holders as well as a remote release for the fuel lid.

A four-cylinder, 1.6-litre, DOHC unit with continuously variable valve timing – engine that is the same as that in the sedan – is in the Sporty hatch. It has assured 82kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 145Nm. However, as regards toxicity emissions, the Hyundai catalytic converter was not detailed. But we can expect a good one for this additional model in the range.

Anderson continued that the engine was designed and developed by Hyundai and is claimed to be tough and a technologically advanced unit with a bold, cast-iron block and aluminum cylinder head. Part of the package is a five-speed manual gearbox.

Anti-lock and electronic pressure distribution is present in the front disc and rear drum brakes. There is also a transponder immobilizer, remote control for the door locks and a full-sized spare wheel.

Auto Credit Superstore asked:


Applying for a car loan can be an unnerving experience; your finances are a very personal thing. At Auto Credit Superstore we are sensitive to your car loan needs as well as your credit history. We understand that bad things happen to good people and as such we treat all of our customers with the utmost sensitivity and respect.

Auto Credit Superstore was founded to help people with less than perfect credit to obtain car loans. We find you the best terms and conditions and your ideal car or truck. Your one stop shopping for car loans!

At Auto Credit Superstore, the car loan representatives carefully review every loan application. Before your application is submitted to any lender all aspects of your situation are carefully taken into consideration so as to be properly presented to the proposed lender. This guarantees you the very best loan rates available! We have years of experience and over twenty five million dollars in loans arranged.

Fill our car loan application and within as little as 60 minutes Auto Credit Superstore will be able to begin processing your car loan. We have the expertise to find you the best car loan with the lowest interest rate possible. It’s free, confidential and a professional will be able to match you up with the best terms and rate for your car loan.

Auto Credit Superstore has many car loan lending sources throughout Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Westlock, St.Albert, Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Camrose, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House, Calgary, High River, Olds, Lethbridge, North Battleford, Humboldt, Saskatoon, Yorkton, Regina, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Winnipeg, Halifax, Dartmouth, Bridgewater, Toronto, Hamilton, Oakville, Barrie, Sudbury, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, London, Kingston & Cornwall.

Auto Credit Superstore

P.O. Box 821650

Vancouver,

Mark Gittelman asked:

I worked for an auto dealer service department that had a tendency for playing hardball with its customers.This auto dealer had an exclusive area franchise and considered themselves the only game in town. If you decided to try another auto dealership of this brand you had to drive more than an hour to get there. This cornering of the local market was used by the auto dealership against its customers. The owner of the dealership would get excited when customers would get irate and would usually handle the complaints in person, which is very unusual.

He had a complete service department staff to handle such matters. But he enjoyed the confrontation so much he would push everyone aside and handle the automotive consumer directly. When the customer would get to the point when they realized who they where dealing with and that conversation was futile, they would threaten a lawsuit. Well the owner had a standard response he used on the irate customer when they threatened to sue. He would say, me and my team of lawyers have deep pockets and live for litigation, see you in court. And that was the end of the conversation. Either you spent the money on litigation or you accepted the dealerships pricing decision. ninety percent of the people would give up at this point but the other 10% would actually go to court over the given issue.

When the owner said he was willing to go to court he meant it. I remember many days when the owner and selected service department staff would dress up and go to court. The good news is he lost as much as 50% of the time if the case did go to court. When he came back from his losing court cases he was chewing nails and veins were popping out of his head. This man hated to lose.

On one occasion we had a customer take a different route. The customer made a big picket sign and took off from work and picketed the auto dealer service building from open till close. This picketers wife would take over so he could have lunch and bathroom breaks.

Well after 2 days the owner finally got a court injunction to stop the picketer. The picketer was removed with great force by local police (kicking and screaming comes to mind).

The funny part of the story was the auto dealer service department employees where all pulling for the picketer. The owner treated his employees worse than his customers. I could write a whole book just about this one dealership and its owner. The auto dealership was crammed with so much inventory there was no employee parking. The entire staff (except the owner) had to park a mile away at the city ball field and walk to work in –30 degree wind chills and heavy nor’easter snowstorms. I worked at this dealership for two years because I enjoyed working on the exclusive product line and didn’t want to drive the hour and 15 minutes to the next closest same brand name auto dealer.

So if your wondering why the auto dealer service department is not treating you fairly, you might take a look around the area for another same brand dealership to visit. If there are none, then you might just have your answer.I have a lot more incite on why the automotive business is stacked against its life blood (the customer).



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Lisa Ziegler asked:




The Dodge brand under the Chrysler Group manufacturer of Jeep window regulator is planning to downsize its advertising slogan from “Grab Life by the Horns” to simply “Grab Life” in an effort to portray Chrysler’s best-selling marquee as more than just a truck brand, according to a reliable source familiar with the plan.

For the past couple of months, Dodge has rolled out the Avenger midsize sedan, the Caliber hatchback, and the Nitro small SUV, for fear that its not gaining many sales because the brand is so associated with the trucks like the muscular Dodge Ram pickup.

A Chrysler official refused to give his views on the shift, by saying that it is not the policy of the company to discuss future marketing plans. But according to a person that is familiar with the plan has told The Detroit News that new slogan is to be revealed in a series of television ads scheduled to air in the coming weeks. Some dealers have also said that they were aware of the change but requested for their identity to be kept secret.

The new campaign is being developed by BBDO in Detroit. It is not yet sure whether the new marketing approach will attract new buyers but some experts say that it still depends on the execution of the said ad. According John Henke, a marketing professor at Oakland University who follows automotive advertising, “They need something with the same cachet. If they’re going to make a change, it should be a bigger change that should be more apropos.”

The change in slogan is being planned as Dodge car sales are growing with new model rollouts while its truck sales are declining amid volatile gasoline prices. While the Ram remains to be Chrysler’s best-selling single model, it is also one of the oldest designs in the pickup segment. Some of its main rivals such as Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Silverado have both been redesigned in recent years.

Last March, the Dodge brand sales decline by 4 percent with demand for trucks off by 6.6 percent whereas car sales increase by 3.4 percent. The biggest gains were recorded by the Caliber hatchback, which Dodge’s smallest and most fuel-efficient model increasing by 32 percent while the Charger sedan was able to post a 40.8 percent increase. Ram sales decline by 1.1 percent.

Dodge is also seeking other markets such as women car buyers and younger car buyers. According to Auto Pacific, the marketing and product consulting firm that has offices in California and Southfield, 78 percent of Dodge buyers are men, compared to the industry-wide 65 percent. It was also found out that the median age of Dodge buyers is 53.

The shift in tagline and new ads also come against a backdrop of dealer dissatisfaction with recent Dodge brand commercials which they felt have completely failed to differentiate Dodge models from its other competitors especially when the commercial showed a vehicle flying into midair after getting a jump from a Dodge Nitro.

The President of Wilson Dodge in Flowood, Miss. Doug Wilson is not aware of the plans to change the slogan of the Dodge commercial however he said that if it is true then there’s always some room for improvement in Dodge ads.

A non-executive Chairman of the consulting firm Courland Automotive Practice in Rochester, Vic Doolan said that if Dodge is determined in attracting buyers it has to change the perception of consumers of the brand. He also said that Chrysler needs to let consumers see beyond the manly façade of Dodge and it will take more than just a shift of slogan. “It’s not a marketing exercise,” said Doolan, who headed BMW North America for nine years. “It’s a complete brand exercise.”

Doolan to illustrate his point said that Chrysler can learn from some auto brands like Saturn that have successfully shaped consumers’ thinking and are now famous for their no-haggle dealership experience. Mazda is another brand from which Chrysler can learn a thing or two, Ford has advertise the brand emphasizing on its quality such as sporty and affordable.

Most of us know that when the car beeps, it is time to get gas, but that is as far as our narrow scope on good car maintenance goes. For many, a visit to the mechanic only happens when major car problems have occurred. Most mechanics would say that the majority of car problems could be avoided if the car owners only changed their motor oil on a regular basis. With the rising price of gas, many Americans are taking the initiative to learn how to be more car repair friendly in order to avoid spending any extra dollars than they have to on their automobiles.  

Everyone has heard that the first step to maintaining your car’s healthy condition is by changing the motor oil regularly. And we all have seen those signs advertising a 10 minute oil change at local gas stations or quick stop car repairs. But what if there’s a way to save $50 bucks and do it yourself? There is and it’s easy to do. 

Here are the steps you’ll need to get you started in changing your own car’s engine oil.  

The first thing you will need to get started is your car owner’s manual. This will tell you how much and what kind of oil is required. You will need to go down to your local auto parts store and make sure you get the right filter for your vehicle. You will also need to purchase a funnel so that you don’t get any oil spillage on your engine, which could cause major problems. In addition, you will also need a pair of filter pliers or a wrench because sometimes the lid to the oil is stubborn coming off. You will also need the right size socket for your specific vehicle. Note that some cars include the socket with the car’s maintenance kit. If your car doesn’t have this, then you can always find one at the auto parts store. Also, make sure to have a rag around to clean up any accidental spills that may occur. 

Open up the car’s hood and pull your car up onto a ramp. Make sure your emergency brake is on so that the car doesn’t go anywhere while you are changing the oil. Use a drain pan to catch all the dirty oil and place it under the car by the drain bolt. Use a ratchet or a wrench to remove your car’s drain plug bolt. When the oil is drained all the way down to a drip, ***** on the drain plug and tighten it with the ratchet or wrench. Next locate your car’s oil filter and use your pliers or wrench to remove it. Before you install the new filter, take some oil and use it as lube on the “o” ring of the filter. Then reinstall the new filter as tight as possible by hand.  

Now that the hard part is done, here comes the easy part. Remove the oil cap from the engine. Place the funnel in the hole and put in the specific amount of oil that your vehicle requires according to the owner’s manual. ***** on the engine oil cap. Start your engine and let it run for a few minutes. Then once you turn off your car, check to see if you have the correct amount of oil in your engine. Congratulations! You have successfully changed your engine oil. 



By: Tim LaGanke, Jr.

About the Author:

Chris Meagher asked:


Serious warning – Car tires may have a hidden defect that could cause drivers to lose control on the road.

A lot of us think that if our car tires look good, are properly inflated and have a good amount of tread, that they are probably safe to go out on the road with.

But few drivers ever think about the age of their tires – as we are about to learn, this can be a tragic mistake.

Tires, especially the spare tire, could be up to a decade old, making them an accident waiting to happen. A ten year old tire can have deteriorated to the point of having rotted inside, when the tire is used at highway speeds the effect can be disastrous.

“In tires, the materials that hold the belts together — the rubber materials — will degrade and lose its elasticity, and those properties will get to the point where the tire can no longer hold together,” said vehicle safety advocate Sean Kane. Also, in warmer climates tires start to break-down even earlier. Six years, or older, is when we start to see a disproportionate rise in tire failures. An American government report on tire aging, analysing insured tire claims from several states, found that 84 percent of claims were for tires over 6 years old.Even never used tires, such as those bought from the showroom floor, in the same age bracket, are just as dangerous, as they may indeed have been sitting there for a decade or more, just waiting to be sold.

Many auto-makers now put warnings in their new-car manuals, warning against using tires more than 6 years old. What is really needed are expiration dates stamped on the product, similar to many other consumer products, from washing machines to yogurt.

The tire industry disagrees, stating that expiration dates will only give consumers a false sense of security, Dan Zielinski from the ‘Rubber Manufacturers Association’ says: “Consumers may view the use-by-date as the minimum service-time they can use that tire, no matter what they do to it – whether they care for it or not, or have worn it to the nub.”

Tire-makers say proper maintenance is the key to safe tires and that there is no reliable data available showing tires becoming dangerous after 6 years.

So, where does this leave the consumer? I have some invaluable information to pass on to you!

On the outer wall, or side-wall of the tire, the bit that faces away from the car, are a series of four raised numbers and letters (actually manufactured with the tire). The last series of four numbers actually shows the “birth-date of the tire”. e.g. if it shows 1501, this means on the 15th week of 2001 is the date of manufacture.

Safety experts advise that if a tire does fail, the driver should not slam on the brakes, this can cause the vehicle to swerve out of control, pulling suddenly toward the affected tire, nor should drivers jerk the wheel back, possibly causing the car to roll.

Drivers should immediately back off the accelerator and gently pull the wheel back to straighten the car applying the brakes carefully once the car has slowed to a manageable speed.

Other Interesting Articles can be found at: http://cartires.instantwhitewalls.com



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Carazoo.com asked:

The appropriate aid of taken care of and the car maintenance increases the life of their car and heightens conduction experience. When tenth that it will heighten the conduction experience is not because the maintenance will add comfort to the experience but because when a car is in a well-maintained condition, the possibilities of the lack of the car reduce. This alternatively allows him to enjoy a stroll and more surely tense-free. In addition, a car also well-maintained improves the operation of motor, it heightens fuel-effectiveness, and it increases the value of reventa of his car. Therefore, a certain taken hour to maintain its car will try today beneficial in the long term. Here they are some of the useful extremities for the maintenance of the car: The majority of the important parts of a car is the car motor. Therefore, it is very important to take the good care from the motor. It examines the motor for support the appropriate operation well all the elements of the motor. If any component needs to be replaced, substit

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